Mikey Dread, one of the most influential figures in Jamaican music, has died of a brain tumor at the age of 54, it has been announced.
Born Michael Campbell, Dread became the first Reggae DJ on mainstream Jamaican radio with his “Dread At The Controls” show on JBC. Spinning the latest dub plates from greats such as Augustus Pablo and King Tubby, Dread earned a massive cult following for his show.
A later move into music production saw Mikey Dread work extensively with The Clash on “Bankrobber” and the dub side of “Sandinista!”.
Dread once boasted that he broke reggae classic “Uptown Top Ranking” by Althea and Donna on his show. Incidently, the producer of that song – the legendary Joe Gibbs – also passed on recently.
Mikey Dread died on March 15th, at his home in the United States.
